Ohio measles outbreak confirmed

In a follow up to a story earlier today about a possible measles outbreak in Central Ohio, health officials from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), Knox County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have confirmed an outbreak of measles in the Knox County area.

The confirmed case number was reduced when a duplicate record was discovered and one of the confirmed individuals, who initially returned to Ohio and became sick, was actually from Missouri where he has since returned.

The outbreak started after some unvaccinated Amish returned from a humanitarian trip to the Philippines where there is a massive outbreak of measles.

According to the Knox County Health Department, The two-week trip to the Philippines in March was the first of several organized by Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) in Holmes County. CAM plans to send 400 volunteers on two-week trips during the next several months. There have been four trips so far this year. Only the first trip included Amish from Knox County; however the subsequent trips have included Amish from neighboring Holmes County and elsewhere in Ohio, plus some from out-of-state. CAM has been cooperative in providing the names and contact
information.

Measles is an acute, highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that is easily spread. Symptoms of the measles usually appear in 7-21 days after exposure. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye and a rash. The disease is highly contagious and can be transmitted from four days prior to the onset of the rash to four days after the onset. Anyone who is not immunized and gets exposed to the disease has a high likelihood of getting ill.

In a related story, Columbus Public Health has reported 278 mumps cases from Franklin and Delaware counties. To date, 165 cases have been linked to The Ohio State University outbreak, as of today.